It's no secret that graphics cards can be an expensive purchase, especially in recent years, but despite the market rally, it's becoming clear that some models were never a bargain to begin with, even at suggested retail prices.
GPU prices have finally started to stabilize after months of artificially inflated prices, likely caused by a vile combination of global chip shortages and competition from crypto miners.
This is great news for those of us who were desperate to upgrade our systems or build our first gaming PC, but many veteran PC gamers and computer enthusiasts have complained that the last two generations of graphics cards have become disproportionately expensive.
As reported by Video Cardz (Opens in a new tab), there is probably more than a grain of truth to this, because 3D Center (Opens in a new tab) (Germany's largest GPU website) has collected price and performance data to try to prove the true affordability of these cards.
let's do the math
Using the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 as the baseline for cost/performance, each GPU from Nvidia's Ampere series of cards was matched, and the results of this experiment showed that many of the more powerful graphics cards are overpriced at MSRP when is taken into account. in performance. Put simply, this suggests that even if you buy a GPU at Nvidia's stated price, you probably won't get what you paid for.
Nvidia Ampere GeForce RTX 30 Series GraphicsMSRP (Standard Manufacturer Retail Price)4KPerf /ListFair Price Performance RatingGeForce RTX 3090 Ti€1999408%41%€814GeForce RTX 3090€1499376%50%€750GeForce RTX 3080 Ti€1199366%61%€ 731GFORCE RTX%93080 €%930%€ 659GORCE RTX 3070 TI € 599271%90%€ 541GEFORCE RTX 3070 € 499250%100%€ 499GORCE RTX 3060 TI € 399217%109%€ 433GORCE RTX 3060 € 329165% 100~3050The most obvious example in the table above would be Nvidia's flagship GPU, the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, which has a suggested retail price of €1,999 (about £1,600 / AU$2,700). Given its real-world performance compared to the RTX 3070, the 3D hub estimates that this GPU should only cost €814 (about £660 / AU$1,170), less than half of what it actually sells for.
One notable winner, however, is the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which is actually priced below average cost compared to performance, meaning you get more power for your money. Even the RTX 3060 was on par with the RTX 3070 for apparently being "worth" its MSRP.
Still, many other Nvidia GPUs would be considered too expensive in this experiment, and many of the more powerful cards on offer are significantly more expensive than they should be.
The grass isn't always red... eh, greener
Team Red didn't go lightly either, as the same comparison between all RDNA2 graphics cards (again, against cost vs. RTX 3070 performance) found every GPU in their range to underperform.
Still, AMD's pricing seems puny in the mid-market, especially with cards like the Radeon RX 6700 XT and Radeon RX 6800 XT only slightly below the fair MSRP.
AMD Radeon RX 6000 Graphics MSRP (Manufacturer's Standard Retail Price) Performance Rating 4K Perf / List Fair Price Radeon RX 6950 XT €1099368% 67% €735 Radeon RX 6900 XT €999348% 70% €695 Radeon RX 6800 XT €6493 22% 99%€693 Radeon RX5 €0,6902 €0,690%€555Deon RX 6750 XT €549234%85%€467 RX 6700 XT €479221%92%€441 RX 6650 XT €399167%84%€333ra XT 6600 €379159% 71%71%€140Radeon€ RX 159~4504 %67%€107High-end and entry-level models seem to be the most affected (with the notable exception of Nvidia's RTX 3060 line), but mid-range cards might be better in this experience given that the RTX 3070 was used as the starting point. reference. see drastically different results if another GPU like Radeon RX 6500 XT or GeForce RTX 3080 Ti were used.
It should also be noted that this is just a website affordability experiment and should not be taken as official data. Performance isn't the only metric to consider here, especially as these powerful flagship graphics cards require more specialized card designs and cooling solutions, all of which can drive up the cost significantly.
Analysis: is this a fair comparison?
There's an argument appearing all over the internet these days, as is tradition when a new generation of graphics cards is on the horizon, that any current generation hardware is a bad investment. Problem is, people said that two years ago too, and unless you were lucky enough to get your hands on a Founder Edition GPU, you probably didn't blame yourself for upgrading to the older RTX 20-series when you had the chance to do so at a reasonable price. the price.
I've played this drum quite often, but value can be subjective. At launch, the RTX 3070 Ti didn't get a particularly good rating because its price was deemed too high for the performance it was getting, but that was at the height of the GPU shortage... if you could manage to buy a card graph. card at MSRP, you'd probably pay a lot less than some poor chump who shelled out more for a reseller, making it a steal overall.
Is the RTX 3070 Ti still a bargain? Not so much if you buy one today, but the last couple of months of relatively affordable PC gaming I enjoyed when GPU prices were through the roof is worthless to me, and in that scenario, my view of value is the only one. It is important.
At best, the current generation of cards should drop below MSRP when the next generation launches, making them a bargain, but it's key to remember that this isn't guaranteed. If the crypto market recovers and mining rigs become viable again, we could see a series of similar events causing another GPU shortage, driving up card prices, whether new or old.
With the imminent release of Nvidia Lovelace and AMD RDNA3, we can only hope that the market remains weak to give gamers the chance to pick up a new GPU after years of battling resellers, bots, and miners. Otherwise, we may find ourselves buying pre-made gaming desktops and laptops again.
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